The Beacon at Gulf Breeze

“Your loved one is in good hands with us”

The Beacon at Gulf Breeze is a retirement, assisted living, and memory care community in Gulf Breeze Florida, at the western edge of the Florida panhandle. The facility was formerly known as The Blake at Gulf Breeze, when its original owners and founders, Glenn and Jackie Barclay, first opened it in 2008 as a new approach to senior housing that focused on resort style living while still providing the warm atmosphere that makes it feel like home. Blake Management Group has grown into an extensive collection of quality, senior living communities throughout Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

“When they opened in 2008,” says Tiffany Finelli, the Beacon’s Senior Solutions Director, “they saw a need to create something that had the luxury that our seniors are used to living in – somewhere they could take pride in calling their home while providing exceptional care.” In 2012, the Barclays sold the building to AEW Capital Management, but continued to manage the facility under the Blake Management Group, headquartered in Pensacola, Florida.

In July, 2015, AEW sold the Blake to CNL Healthcare Properties, based in Orlando, Florida, a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on senior housing and healthcare facilities. CNL selected Superior Residences, Inc. Management (SRIM) of Spring Hill, Florida to be the new management company. According to Finelli, only the name was changed; all the staff was retained. “The new management company left everything in place, including the facility’s extended congregate care license and they added a limited nursing services (LNS) license” she says.

The 75,000 square foot Beacon has 70 units for assisted and independent living, grouped together, and 37 units in the memory care division. The facility features large courtyards with covered porches, walkways, sitting areas, and landscaped gardens. According to Barbara Scheurer, the Beacon’s Administrator, its residents come from all over. “A lot of their children live here, in Gulf Breeze,” she says. “We have families from New York, New Hampshire, California; they’re moving their mothers and fathers from where they grew up, to live here, next to them.”

There is no skilled nursing or rehabilitation unit at the Beacon. “But, because we have an extended congregate care license, we are able to do things that you’d normally have to go to skilled nursing for,” says Finelli, “such as catheter, colostomies, oxygen, and feeding tubes – we can handle that here in the building. And as far as rehabilitation, we have home health and therapy coming in, up to six days a week to rehab from any illness or injury.”

According to Scheurer, the Beacon differentiates itself from similar senior living communities in several ways, including round-the-clock nursing. “We have 24-hour nursing, so only nurses take care of medications and wound care,” she says. “A lot of these facilities have medication technicians that give medication, where we have licensed nurses who give the medications to our residents.” Another thing that sets the Beacon apart is its Guest Stay and Day Stay Programs which are designed for caregivers who either need time to take care of their own personal needs for a few hours, or take a well-deserved vacation for a weekend or a week. It’s also a safe and secure option for those individuals who have had a recent illness or hospital stay and need additional assistance or therapy before returning home.

Finelli also adds that the food service at the Beacon is “outstanding. We have an award-winning chef who prepares meals three times a day, served restaurant-style. We also have Activities Directors – one for assisted and independent living, and one for memory care. We have Tai Chi instructors, we have yoga instructors; we go on trips and outings.”

In addition to its state-of-the-art emergency response systems, its 24-hour nursing staff, and its menu of social, recreational, fitness, and educational programs, Finelli believes that the Beacon at Gulf Breeze offers its residents the single most important amenity that a senior living facility can provide – a family-like atmosphere and environment. “In our community, everyone here knows everyone,” she states. “And we care for the residents like our own family. We’re a very tight-knit community. And we always put the residents first.”
At the Beacon at Gulf Breeze, “You can rest assured that your loved one is in good hands with us.”

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AT A GLANCE

WHO: The Beacon at Gulf Breeze
WHAT: A retirement, assisted living, and memory care community
WHERE: Gulf Breeze, Florida
WEBSITE: www.thebeaconseniorliving.com

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